5 Surprising Causes Of Alzheimer's Disease

It's happened to all of us: we forget where we parked our car or why we walked into a room. Some amount of forgetfulness is normal, especially when you're busy or have a lot on your mind. But for nearly five million Americans, that forgetfulness will progress into Alzheimer's disease.

Decades of research have shown that the buildup in the brain of toxic proteins, called beta amyloid and tau, can lead to Alzheimer's. What's less clear is what causes these proteins to accumulate. Some new studies have begun to explain this process, revealing that the causes of Alzheimer's disease go beyond genetics and unhealthy habits (though those are important factors, too). Here, some of the most unusual (and scary!) causes new science is pointing to.

• You're on Anti-Anxiety Medication.

A class of medications called benzodiazepines, which include the popular drugs lorazepam (Ativan), alprazolam (Xanax), and clonazepam (Klonopin), are frequently used to treat anxiety and insomnia. Although studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of these drugs have only evaluated their short term use (generally three months or so), many people take them long-term. A study published in the British Medical Journal followed 1,796 Canadians with Alzheimer's disease and 7,184 healthy controls for six years and found that taking benzodiazepines for more than three months was associated with up to a 51% increase in Alzheimer's disease.

The moral of the story? If you need benzodiazepines only on occasion, you're probably safe. If anxiety and insomnia are a regular issue for you, consider cognitive behavioral therapy, which has been found to effectively treat both conditions—without the harmful side effects of drugs.

• You've Hit your Head Too Many Times.

With an estimated 300,000 Americans getting a sports-related concussion each year, according to data from the University of Pittsburgh's Brain and Spine Injury Program, lots of us are familiar with the worries that can accompany a head injury. Most people recover without a hitch, but for others, the inflammation that helps to heal the damaged brain tissue becomes chronic. Here is where the potential links to Alzheimer's disease can be found, says Brian Giunta, MD, PhD, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist at the University of Southern Florida.

Cells in your brain called microglia play an important role in inflammation. "When the microglia are constantly in a pro-inflammatory state, they are less able to clear amyloid beta from the brain," Giunta says.

Without microglia to clear the misfolded proteins, it can build up in the brain and kill neurons. It's still not clear why the inflammatory process stays switched on in some people or how many cases of Alzheimer's disease are potentially linked with traumatic brain injury, Giunta says.

• You're Regularly Sleep-Deprived.

A lack of sleep has hit near-epidemic levels in recent years, as we attempt to juggle career, children, marriages, hobbies, and more. For lots of us, something's gotta give—and many of us choose to sacrifice shut-eye. Besides making you drowsy behind the wheel and giving you the midnight munchies, this sleep loss can also speed up the development of Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in the Neurobiology of Aging.

"Sleep problems are common in people with Alzheimer's disease, but it wasn't clear whether this was cause or effect," says Domenico Praticò, MD, a pharmacologist and immunologist at Temple University in Philadelphia. In a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, Praticò and colleagues found that letting these mice only sleep for four hours a night increased the amount of tau in their brains. It also altered learning and memory, as well as how well neurons were able to communicate with each other. Chronic sleep deprivation, Praticò explains, stresses the brain and body (which is why you may be so tired), which speeds up the harmful processes leading to Alzheimer's disease.

"Sleep deprivation is a form of chronic stress on the body. It's also the time when the brain gets rid of bad things," such as excess amyloid beta protein, Praticò said. 

• You're lonely.

Remaining engaged with friends and the broader community is part of what many of us consider the good life. It's good medicine, too. A study in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry identified links between loneliness and the development of dementia.

We often feel loneliness

The researchers found that feelings of loneliness in older adults gave them 1.63 times the odds of developing dementia during the three years of the study. Scientists still don't know what's driving this association, but the implications are clear: Staying connected is good for you.

We are waiting

• You have diabetes in your brain.

To neuroscientist Suzanne de la Monte, MD, of Brown University, Alzheimer's disease is really a metabolic disease that affects the brain. The links are so close that she has begun referring to Alzheimer's disease as Type 3 diabetes.

Brain cells use glucose as fuel, and insulin tells these cells to slurp up glucose in the blood. De la Monte's big insight was that brain cells can develop insulin resistance, just like other cells in the body.

"Any organ can be affected by insulin resistance," de la Monte says. "You can have it in the liver- we call that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. If you get it in the kidney, we call it renal disease. If you get it in the brain, we call it Alzheimer's."

Her research over the past few years has revealed that this creates a toxic environment for the brain, leading to the harmful buildup of proteins and neuron death seen in Alzheimer's.

In addition to telling us more about how Alzheimer's can be prevented through healthy diet and exercise, it could also help potentially treat the disease. Preliminary studies have shown that inhaled insulin can help reduce symptoms of Alzheimer's dementia.

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Why You Need to Scrape Your Tongue Every Day

Even if you always brush and floss your teeth, you could still be skipping one very important oral hygiene routine: Cleaning your tongue. 

Failing to give this organ some love may kick-start gum disease, which is correlated with heart disease, says Pia Lieb, D.D.S., a cosmetic dentist in New York City. Perhaps more pressing: All that gunk trapped on your tongue can give you gnarly breath. 

The Fix: 

Head to the pharmacy and buy a hard, plastic tongue scraper. Avoid soft wristband models or the grooves on the back of your toothbrush. They simply aren’t strong enough, says Dr. Lieb.

In a pinch, a teaspoon should also get the job done, she says. Once you have your tool of choice, reach to the back of your tongue and rake through the fuzzy surface, or papillae, multiple times to bring any plaque, or a sticky film of food or bacteria, to the front. 

After thoroughly combing through your tongue, use a mouthwash that contains hydrogen peroxide to lift out any remaining matter and rinse it out. 

Do this routine twice a day, at night and especially in the morning. Anaerobic bacteria multiply in dark, moist, and warm conditions—like the environment of your mouth—when you’re sleeping, says Dr. Lieb.

Bonus benefit: 

A Belgian study found that tastes will appear stronger after only 2 weeks of cleaning your tongue. 

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The Amazing Way Exercise Appears To Fight Cancer Tumors Directly

Cancer patients are often advised to exercise, and it’s easy to understand why. A cancer diagnosis is life-shattering, so patients often fall into a deep depression, which makes recovery all the more difficult. Far better to challenge oneself with exercise goals, be they hitting a set minutes-per-week target or finishing a half marathon. Exercise can't guarantee anyone a recovery from cancer, but the opposite—depressed, inactive acceptance of one's condition—is almost certain to create a downward spiral.

This is the mostly psychological side of exercise and cancer. But are there also physical pathways by which exercise can improve cancer outcomes? Research published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute indicates that the answer is yes.

Kansas State University exercise physiologist Brad Behnke has been studying prostate-cancer tumor growth in rats that either exercise or are sedentary. As with humans, rats divert blood flow to the muscles when exercising. The result, in Behnke's research to date, is a 200% increase in tumor blood flow during exercise.

That sounds like it could be a bad thing, at least if more blood flow "fed" tumor growth, and accelerated metastasis (spread of the disease to other organs). However, the opposite is what occurs, according to Behnke.

"When a tumor lacks oxygen, it releases just about every growth factor you can think of, which often results in metastasis," he explained to Runner's World Newswire by email. "Simply speaking, the tumor says, 'I can't breathe here, so let's pick up and move somewhere else in the body.' "

When a tumor is bathed in oxygen, on the other hand, its activity tends to slow. In an earlier paper, Behnke demonstrated a 90% decrease in "tumor hypoxia" (low oxygen) among rats that engaged in long-term, moderate-intensity treadmill exercise. "As far as I know, this is the largest reduction in tumor hypoxia of any intervention, including drugs," he said.

Another study by a different group of researchers has shown that aerobic exercise can lead to "normalization of the tissue microenvironment in human breast tumors." In other words, exercise can help the tissue return to its pre-tumor state, or forestall development of a more aggressive and dangerous cancer.

In addition, greater blood flow and oxygen delivery to a tumor can potentially increase transport of cancer-fighting therapies to the tumor. For example, exercisers respond better to radiation treatments, Behnke said. Exercise increases blood flow by increasing blood pumping and pressure, and by decreasing blood vessel constriction.

Behnke's research has focused on low- to moderate-intensity exercise such as brisk walking or slow jogging, and human studies have not been conducted yet.

"There really aren't any negative effects to moderate-intensity exercise," he said. "Exercise improves the side effects of cancer and treatments, but what the exercise does to the tumor is likely beneficial as well."

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Fingernails: 5 Signs That Point to Bigger Health Problems

Changes in the fingernails can indicate everything from heart disease to thyroid problems and malnutrition. Here are some nail conditions that might require medical attention.

When Nail Separates from Nail Bed

What it looks like: Fingernails become loose and can separate from the nail bed.

• Possible causes:
• Injury or infection
• Thyroid disease
• Drug reactions
• Psoriasis
• Reactions to nail hardeners

Your Nails Look Yellow

What it looks like: Yellow discoloration in the fingernails. Nails thicken and new growth slows. Nails may lack a cuticle and may detach from the nail bed.

Possible causes:

• Respiratory conditions, such as chronic bronchitis
• Swelling of the hands (lymphedema)

Spoon Nails

What it looks like: Soft nails that look scooped out. In spoon nails (koilonychia), the depression usually is large enough to hold a drop of liquid.

Possible causes:

• Iron deficiency
• Anemia

Nail Clubbing

What it looks like: The tips of the fingers become enlarged and the nails curve around the fingertips.

Possible causes:

• Low oxygen levels in the blood, which could point to heart disease
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Cardiovascular disease
• Liver disease

Opaque Nails

What it looks like: Nails look mostly opaque but have a dark band at the tips (a condition known as Terry's Nails)

Possible causes:

• Malnutrition
• Congestive heart failure
• Diabetes
• Liver disease

If your senior parent has one of these nail problems, and it doesn't go away, make an appointment with your doctor to get it diagnosed.

This Information compiled from Mayo Clinic

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4 Best Foods For Your Brain

If most days start with a search for your keys, or you wander from room to room trying to remember why you're in that room, you might be interested in this news: Research suggests that certain foods can help stave off age-related memory loss, dementia, and even Alzheimer's disease.

A recent study published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementiafound that a new diet—aptly named the MIND Diet—may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's by 53%. Before you balk at the idea of having to hew to yet another eating plan, the research suggests you don't have to follow every detail of the MIND Diet to benefit. Even study participants who only "moderately" adhered to the diet lowered their risk of Alzheimer's by 35%.

So, what's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on this brain-boosting plan? It's a combination of the Mediterranean and DASH diets (MIND stands for Mediterrranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay), both of which have received rave reviews for their heart-healthy benefits and call for lots of vegetables, fruits, healthy fats (such as nuts and olive oil) and lean proteins (such as fish and chicken).

"Typically, what's good for the heart is good for the brain," says Michelle M. Mielke, PhD, associate professor in the department of health sciences research at the Mayo Clinic whose research focuses on Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. After all, your brain needs about 20% of the blood your heart pumps in order to get enough oxygen and fuel—which means if your heart isn't in tip-top shape, your brain cells may have trouble getting what they need to function optimally.

To fuel your body and brain, load up on the following key players in the MIND diet:

Fatty fish

Seafood offers at least two nutrients that help keep your mind sharp: Omega-3 fats and vitamin D. Tufts University research found that people who ate fish like salmon, tuna, and halibut three times a week reduced their risk of Alzheimer's disease by nearly 40%. "Omega-3 fatty acids contain DHA and EPA, which are highly concentrated in the brain and are crucial for optimal brain function," says Joy Dubost, PhD, RD, a dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Fatty fish are also a great source of vitamin D, says Dubost, and numerous studies indicate D can help protect the brain. "Just one 4-ounce piece of cooked salmon contains 600 IU of vitamin D," she says, "which is pretty high for a food source of D."

Green leafy vegetables

Loaded with vitamin K, greens such as spinach, kale, and collards have been shown to slow cognitive decline. According to a new study from Rush University Medical Center, people who ate 1 to 2 servings of leafy greens each day had the cognitive ability of a person 11 years younger than those who consumed none.

Olive oil

Chalk up one more reason why this oil is a smart choice: It's an excellent source of polyphenols—powerful antioxidants that have can help prevent and even reverse age- and disease-related memory problems. Research published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found that extra virgin olive oil improves learning and memory, and other studies have shown that swapping saturated fats for mono- and polyunsaturated fats (like the kind found in olive oil) is associated with a lower risk for Alzheimer's disease.

Blueberries

This super berry contains an antioxidant—anthocyanin—that may be particularly healthy for your brain. Recent research from Tufts University found that anthocyanins can cross the blood-brain barrier, protecting brain cells from oxidation and boosting communication between brain neurons. A Harvard Nurses' Health Study of 16,000 women over the age of 70 found that women who consumed 2 or more half-cup servings of blueberries or strawberries per week remained mentally sharper than those who didn't eat the berries. Tufts animal studies have found that blueberries help improve short-term memory, navigational skills, balance and coordination.

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Worst Nightmare - Getting Diarrhea On A Run

It's a nightmare scenario for runners: A spirited jaunt on your favorite back country trail turns into a sprint for the nearest tree when nature suddenly calls—and not the friendly kind of call.

Although you may fight valiantly, you're ultimately forced to drop trou and drop a deuce.

Hopefully this has never happened to you. But in the unfortunate event that you suddenly feel the urge, remember this advice to keep your run from going down the crapper.

Why do you get diarrhea on a run?

The physical motion of running manhandles your intestines (and whatever's in them) for a prolonged period of time, says Men's Health nutrition advisor Mike Roussell, PhD. If you've ever made the mistake of eating or drinking too much water before you run, you know the sickening feeling of your stomach contents sloshing around. When you run, your body also draws blood away from your intestines and into your aching muscles, causing a disruption in normal digestion, Roussell says. That's when, as they say, shit happens.

What should you do?

If you're on a training run and you feel the urge, just walk; the jostling motion of running can make it tough to hold back the goods.

To help prevent diarrhea, avoid fiber-rich foods such as beans, nuts, and raisins for several hours before you run.

While fiber can give you plenty of energy and help you lose weight, some fiber-rich foods may also make your stomach and lower GI tract feel heavier if you consume them too close to an exercise session. It takes about 2 hours for fiber to leave your stomach and enter your intestine, so you'll want to give yourself enough time between eating it and setting out on your run.

Worst Case Scenario: 

Find a nice, peaceful spot in the woods to do your business, and look for a large, dry leaf.

You know the rest

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Burn 350 Calories With These Easy Moves

When life's as busy as it is, simple is good. Easy, quick, and still super effective: even better. So when we came across a recent study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research that found alternating between two basic Kettle Bell (KB) exercises was powerful enough to count as your cardio and strength training in one, we were pumped to try it. Especially when we heard it could burn between 300 to 350 calories in only 30 minutes.

According to the study authors, this new research provides the first evidence that a continuous KB protocol can produce the same metabolic cost of moderate intensity treadmill walking (4 MPH) with a 4% grade, and potentially have a positive effect on the improvement of aerobic fitness. What's more, it'll slim and tone your entire body, including your core, and help you build and maintain strong, lean muscle mass.

"As people age, loss of muscle mass increases, leading to problems with balance, falls, and weakness," says study co-author Robert Kraemer. "This form of exercise would be particularly helpful in this regard." It's also great for when the weather isn't cooperating and you're stuck inside or short on time.

So what do you have to do? In the study, participants performed 3 continuous 10-minute sets of 10 kettlebell swings followed by 10 sumo deadlifts, with a 3-minute rest between each set. You'll definitely break a sweat, but with only 2 moves to think about you can zone out, pump your music, or work out in front of another episode of House Hunters.

Grab a 'bell and get to it. Start with a weight of 10 pounds or less until you've mastered your form (if you're totally new to KBs, consider taking a class or a training session with a pro to nail the basics) and slowly work your way up to 20 or 25 pounds. As the workout progresses—and you lose steam—pick up a lighter weight to avoid compromising your form.

2-Handed Swing move

Grab a kettlebell and stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes turned out about 45 degrees. Place kettlebell on the floor between feet. Squat down and grab handle with an overhand grip. Push heels firmly into the floor and stand up, keeping arms extended. Swing it and burn those calories!

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